Jeez you lot really wander off in threads, this went from on-topic to wheiter wombats are cool, to wheiter wombats would be cool in NZ to wheiter Australia Zoo is having good enclosure design...
normally i ain't, but i really liked this topic... Not that i'm complaining seeing foto's of australia zoo's exhibits, it's just the discussion ended
No problems. So what else would you like to know about the export of Australian natives, and we'll try to answer your questions (and try to stay on topic!)
not yet we wont - i just wanna go back to australia zoo for a second. yeah i totally agree zoopro. i'm sure australia zoo saves themselves a truckload of money doing it the way they do. and i'm sure the wombats are more than happy there. still overdone mock-rock exhibits are just about my least favorite thing about zoos. its out-of-date over, done. modern zoos can do so much better than that.
This is a very interesting thread, especially from the point of view of an American zoo professional. It is my personal goal to always strive to "get it right" for the sake of the animals. We do exhibit kangagoos. We also exhibit echidnas and striped possums in a nocturnal setting. We have dingoes and we have Parma wallabies. Over the years we exhibited 11 Tassie devils and continually tried to make their enclosure better. The last devil outside of Australia died here 3 years ago. Our devils lived long lives with the oldest one surviving more than 8 years. My point, I guess, is that many overseas zoos really want to do it right. We've had striped possum babies the last 2 years, and just redid some off-exhibit caging to make better spaces for them. Most of us really want to do it right. BTW--wombats are cool! We had them in 1987 and I'd love to have them again, even if they do sleep all day! Elaine
i remember reading about the last devil outside australia dying at fort wayne zoo in the newspapers over here. why is it that you keep you short-beaked echidnas in a nocturnal house? did you find they were inactive outside?
At Adelaide zoo we house echidnas in the nocturnal house and outside, they are both very active Ohh Rookeyper, are your Striped Possums the Australian or PNG s.species?
We housed our echidnas outside for several years and they were very seldom active during the hours the visitors were there. Now that they are inside we see them more often, though not consistently. Our striped possums came from PNG. We find them to be delightful animals, very busy, and constantly surprising us. We were doing routine physical exams and I sent another keeper to get the last animal. I said "Why don't you bring her back with a joey in the pouch?" When the vet started to examine her, he said "well, there's one baby..." I thought he was kiddding! Last year we found the baby within one day of birth. This year we observed and videotaped the mating but there was no baby. We may separate them in the next few days, then re-introduce to see if we have a baby. Elaine
its bizarre, here in australia our zoos don't have a good collection of new guniea fauna anymore. i remember as a kid visiting taronga and seeing spotted cuscus. i'm not sure where the animal originated from but from memory it was as colourful as the new guniea specimens i have seen in books (the queensland subspecies is apparently usually lacks the orange colouration of the nothern races). but there are no longer any cuscus of any species in our zoos asfar as i know. likewise with the striped possums. whilst their may be some in lesser known native animal parks there are none in any of our major zoos and they are native to our continent as well as new guinea. you would think since our regional zoo association encompases papua new guniea and we that have such close ties with the country and probably the best expertise with marsupials and that its asutralian zoos regional priority after their own fauna that we would have a better range of species. oh well. unfortunately our grey dorcopsis wallabies, once held in two colonies at taronga and melbourne have died out. our last three matschie's tree kangaroos are consolodated at adelaide zoo but refusing to breed. fortunately melbourne zoo has very reliable breeding pairs of goodfellow's tree kangaroos and is breeding them in conjunctin with currumbin sanctuary but from what i hear we desperately need new bloodlines imported. and taronga holds the only pair of long-beaked echidnas outside of new guinea but the animals despite showing beeding behaviour have never bred and i was told by a keeper the female was over 30 years old and the male had a rediculously low sperm count. though its assumed, it has never even been confirmed that these animals lay eggs!
wombats although they are one of my favourite animals (hand-raise a few, and you'll know why ). quote from zoopro . The only chance that I get to see wombats is when I go to Australia for holidays . The ones that I have seen in Australia Zoo , Currimbin sanctuary and Healesville have been fairly active -- heaps more so than koalas ! Its not like I get a chance to see one in the wild , in a zoo , hand raised , or whatever . The above quote is not very clear to those of us who cant raise a few wombats , and you obviously have had a lot to do with them . Even if wombats are aggressive ( and who am I to argue about their temperament ? ) I still think that they will make good exhibits for NZ zoos , along with echidnas , cassowaries and more of your larger goannas ( The closest thing that NZ has to a goanna is a tuatara , which is about the same size as a water dragon ) I have no real problem if Bindi can be an ambassador for wildlife , although I wouldnt want her to take on too many of her Dads characteristics that rattled some of us immensely . I am sure that she has the capability of relating to younger folk , and conservation of wildlife is something that should be important to all . ( When I was her age , I wanted to be a zookeeper , and had that passion for many years until it became obvious that I was not good at sciences and biology ) Plenty of NZers could relate Rolf Harris to kangaroos , and every wallaby in NZ zoos was considered to be just like Skippy . Please dont take my odd sense of humour seriously -- I do appreciate the comments made by all regular forum members , even when we do not see eye to eye with each other . I dont know how many of you have seen a real live kiwi bird . Alot of people think they are cute and funny , and want to have one as a pet ........ The reality is that they have a shocking temperament ( like koalas ) and their claws can do something nasty . So what is it about wombats that you like ?
wombat enclosure What I liked about the wombat enclosure at Australia Zoo was the relatively large area available for the wombats , compared to some other wombat exhibits elsewhere .... Someone asked the keeper there " Why does the wombats have such a large area to run around in ? " to which he replied " because Steve wanted it for them . " If I was a wombat , I guess I would prefer a large area to live in , with or without the faux rock . But I do take Patricks point -- it has been used in overkill ( in many places ) that perhaps a more natural solution could possibly be found ?
I guess there are loads of species that I like, and wombats are not necessarily at the top of the list, but they do come close. How could you not love a face like these: I guess I actually like them for all the wrong reasons really. When wombats are being hand-raised, they imprint themselves on whoever is feeding them, and they follow you all around the place like ducklings follow their mother (I'm saying imprinting is a good thing, by any stretch, but it's a bit unavoidable sometimes when theyse guys are getting 2-hourly feeds around the clock). They have amazing personalities when they are young, whether they are hand-raised or mother-raised. They are stuborn, inquisitive and they race around like little muscly tanks, and they have a great nature..... But then they grow up!!
your photos show exactly why I think that the wombats will be a big hit in NZ when they do arrive ! I also think they LOOK cute , and they are more furry/strokable than koalas -- but like koalas , they can get a nasty disposition when they get bigger ......koalas look cute , but their fur feels like steel wool ( the Australians on this forum probably know this , but others may not ) Firm favourites in NZ zoos always include otters and meerkats ( in the public preference polls ) because the public percieve them to be cute , cuddly or whatever , and are big drawcards at the zoos , along with the big charismatic megafauna ( lions , hippos , elephants etc ) Wellington Zoo was optimistic in getting some wombats in the near future , and it will be the first time in my lifetime that I recall ever seeing them in a NZ zoo . I am confident that they will be a very popular exhibit .
what species do people on this forum see as being up and coming zoo attractions? obviously at the moment elephants, gorillas and in perth sun bears are big hits, getting loads of media attention. meerkats are perenial favourites as nigel mentioned, but what of the others... i think francois langurs could become star attractions once they start shooting out those gorgeous orange abies of theirs. the new southern oceans exhibit at taronga will likely raise the profile and public appeal of the leopard seal, and i reckon cotton-top tamarins and lemurs could become stars in the future, in much the same way as red pandas are. what species does everyone think will become stars???
i have always seen otter and meeerkats as very popular exhibits, cayse there is always activity in the exhibit, i dont see small cats as becoming popular, despite fishing cats amazing ability, there just isnt enough of the activity. any active animal can be a hit, as long as it is correctly displayed, active, with good interp. for example the tapir at taronga malayan) is a popular exhibit i found, many people gathered in, and saw the 'ugly' , 'funnny', 'werid' animals underwater, or lazing very close to a viewing area!
i agree that virtually any species can become a star if you display them the right way. when i say "display" there is more to it than just exhibit design also. red pandas and tree kangaroos are gorgeous coloured creatures, but often you find they are not particuarly active and are perched high in a tree (nothing beats koalas for boring factor though!). however if there is a keeper in the exhibit feeding the animals, they become intensely interesting to the public. gibbons are superb. melbournes pair have long been the most popular animals in the tree-top primate exhibits. their high-energy actrobatics is a stark contrast to the lethargic langurs and colobus. the coatis at melbourne are getting old now, but in my opinion there was another charismatic species with otter/meerkat potential. basically almost anything can be of high interest if displayed with a bit of imagination.
taronga's high profile species taronga has used the recent release of 'happy feet' to promote its new firodland penguin, as well as its resident colony of little penguins. although i dont think the zoo sells itself out quite like the aquarium does. at taronga the sumatran tigers, lions and snow leopards are perrenial favourites. but the fishing cats, in their amazing new exhibit, are rising in the popularity stakes. so too are silvery gibbons, and binturongs. i think a number of factors can make a species popular, but besides old favourites its things like new exhibits, movies (popular media) and special emphasis by the zoo that can turn wallflowers into stars. as nigel said on another thread, there are the charismatic mega-fauna, the girafe, rhino, hippo, elephants, zebras, bears, monkeys, great apes and big cats you expect to see, because our parents have brought us up with the expectation they are a visit to the zoo. then theres media stars, like ring-tailed lemurs (madagascar), meerkats (the lion king) and penguins (happy feet). the media attention surrounding the black rhino breeding program at dubbo raised the profile of this species, to a level of popularity far greater than the similar white rhino. small, cute, active animals like otters, tamarins and red pandas have grown i appeal, and iconic australain species like macropods, koala, platypus and wombats are always popular. tasmanian devils no doubt will have a higher profile because of all the recent publicity surrounding them. i predict that in the future, because of new exhibits sun bear, fishing cats, tree kangaroos, leopard seals and mandrills will become firm favourites. new exhibits at dubbo have turned the indian rhinos into stars too. i reckon more imaginative exhibits could boost the profile of many of our fascinating native marsupials. bilby are a good example, i would like to see a similar focus on numbats who are, after all, diurnal, and could be displayed well outdoors
Didn't taronga try to exhibit numbats years ago in the current tassie devil enclosure? I think the humidity in sydney was a problem and the numbats didn't survive. Not sure. Can anyone remember?
on numbats im quite sure you are right boof, but that was in the 1970s during the directorship of Peter Crowcroft. i have a book that covers his time at the zoo which he wrote and he states the main problem was sourcing termites. at that stage an artificial formula had not been developed. taronga has indicated in its long-term plan that it would like to hold the species again, if needed. im sure a facility could be built to exhibit them, even if it was fully roofed or something like that, with well-drained substrate. right now, with sydney's humidity so low and in drought would be an ideal time to exhibit them
